Crushed (Rushed #2) (8 page)

He looked at me over his sandwich and shrugged.
 

"No, seriously." I bit my lip and screwed up my courage. "You're not second to Zach." I didn't know why it was so important for me to tell him that.
 

He froze with the sandwich halfway to his mouth, and arched one eyebrow. "Am I supposed to be grateful for that?"

I laughed. "Yeah!"

He shook his head. "Me, second to Zach, who's a houseboy? I'm president of the Tau Psi fraternity
and
Mr. University."

"Former houseboy. And you're full of yourself. Quit bragging." I grinned. "That Mr. University competition was rigged."

"Was not."

I ignored his protests. "Girls love bad boys. And badass jailbirds." I rolled my eyes. "You won their votes with a sympathy ploy. Poor baby, spent the night in jail."

He shook his head, rolled up his sleeve, and made a muscle. Crap, he had a nice bicep.

He pointed to it. "You gonna discount this gun?"

He'd caught me drooling. I laughed. "Stop showing off. There were some other fine guns in the competition."

"Yeah?" He held my gaze. "I didn't see you in the crowd checking them out."

"Oh," I said, playing coy and flirting just to pull his chain. "Were you looking for me?"

"No. Should I have been?"

I shrugged, hating the way my insides were turning to jelly. Over Dakota. "Maybe you just missed me."

"You're not the invisible kind, Morgan." His voice was low and sensual.

I swallowed hard. Who was this new Dakota? And why was he making my pulse race?
 

He was flirting back just to toy with me, no doubt. Or get laid. Once a hookup, always a hookup?
 

That was what my favorite sorority advice columns on the internet said. Run! Avoid them like the plague. And any other clichés you can think of to throw out there. Now that I was this new, un-party girl who was looking for an actual relationship, an attainable, achievable relationship with a decent guy, I had to be more selective. And platonic. Give the milk away for free…

I could cliché all day.

Getting involved with Dak would be totally airhead stupid. And just lead to more hookups, not a relationship.
 

When my traitorous pulse refused to slow, and I couldn't get the image of Dak's naked bicep out of my head, I changed the subject with a definite mood killer. "Larry is going to make us write an action plan this afternoon." I rolled my eyes.

"Yeah. What are you going to put in yours?" He was studying me in that penetrating way, like he could hang on my every word. The bastard. He was also subtly flexing that bicep.
 

I had to be imagining this flirting. Then again, the sex between us had been hot. "Not to lie down in strange alleys?"

"That one should be easy to keep," he said. "What were you thinking?"

I stared at him like he'd just asked the dumbest question ever. "You really think I was thinking?"

He half grinned. "I was giving you some credit." He paused. "Shit, Morgan. What's up with you this year?"

I played innocent. "What do you mean?"

He stared at me so intently, I caved under the weight of it and looked away like a coward.
 

"Being such a bitch about Zach," he said. "I have to give you credit. You've upped your game. I didn't think that was possible."
 

Alexis had clearly poisoned Dak's mind.

"Funny you're taking his side." I tried to play it cool. "Given the crap between you. And the way he stole your girl." Maybe that was meant to wound Dak. And maybe not. I was genuinely puzzled that he was so understanding.
 

"No one understands the shit between Zach and me. Least of all me." He shrugged. "I've given up. It's pointless to try. He's a complicated dude, totally beyond comprehension." There was that grin again.

I frowned. Was he insulting me? "What's that look supposed to mean? That I can't handle a complicated guy?"

"Hey!" He held his hands up, like
don't blame me
. "I didn't say anything. But, since you mentioned it, go for a simple guy, Morgs. They're much less trouble."

I made narrow eyes at him. "If Zach hadn't been leading me on since freshman year—"

"Leading you on?" He let out a hiss of disbelief, like I was a huge fool.

"Yeah." I glared at him. "He was totally into me when we first met."

"And you think he never got over you?" I could tell he was trying to keep a straight face, but he was failing. That damn grin kept threatening to pop up.

"He just strung me along."

Dakota looked like he was trying to keep his jaw from dropping. "Killed you with kindness?"

"What?" I wanted to slap that smug look off Dakota's face.

"I hate to be the one to tell you this—he was never into you."

I simply stared back at him, cursing him for the cruel bastard he was. I lifted my chin. "How would you know? You two weren't talking."

He snorted, shook his head, and leaned in close. "I'm a guy. We're not that complicated. Did he ever try to get in your pants?"

I glared at him, refusing to answer.

Dak shrugged. "I get it. He didn't. I was right. The truth hurts, doesn't it, babe?"

I balled my hands to keep from doing something stupid, like throwing my water in his face. "Shut up, Dakota Bradley."

"Hey, I call them like I see them. Right now, I'm the best friend you have. I'm the only one giving you the straight shit. Not the crap you want to hear. Don't like the truth? That's your tough luck." He lowered his voice. "Look. Zach's a red-blooded guy. If he'd wanted you,
nothing
would have stopped him. Certainly not some fucking job. Hey, he had the same opportunity to use me as a front back then, as he did with Alexis." Dakota's gaze was absolutely soul piercing and convicting. "He chose not to."

I'm as bad as Alexis,
I thought
. In Dakota's eyes, for sure
. I had used him to get close to Zach. So maybe I deserved to be cut down a little. And maybe my little and I had more in common than I wanted to admit.

"That was freshman year silliness," I said, lamely defending myself. "We were all young and naïve."

Dakota was still staring at me like he expected an apology. Two years later?
 

His expression didn't waver.
 

"Crap. I'm sorry." I made flirty, pouty lips at him. I didn't know what it was about him that suddenly brought out my responsible side and wanted to please him.

"About what?" Suddenly, he was Mr. Nonchalant.

Call it vanity. Or call it social probation craziness. I wanted him to still care for me. "Do you want me to spell it out?" I arched an eyebrow and let out an exasperated sigh. "Fine. I'm sorry I played you freshman year to get close to Zach. I was a heartless little bitch who didn't know what a great guy she was throwing away. If I had known then what I know now, I never—"

"I get it. Nothing like a heartfelt apology to soothe my wounded vanity." He grinned again, and my heart did that odd little flip. "Once more with feeling?"

"Don't push your luck." I shook my head. "What would I do without you and your brutal honesty?"

"Hard to say. But you should have asked me for it sooner." He looked dead serious. "And saved yourself a fucking lot of heartache."

"I'm over Zach now." I blurted it out without thinking.

Dakota's eyes narrowed, like he didn't believe me.

My phone buzzed. I pulled it out of my purse, glanced at the text that popped up, and shoved the phone back in without replying.

"Mad at your phone?" He made it sound like a joke.

"It was just my dad." I rolled my eyes again. "Reminding me about the baby shower for my stepmom the day after Thanksgiving."
 

"Baby shower? You're going to be a big sis—congrats!" He gave me a sympathetic look.

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, like
heaven help me
. "My little sister is due Christmas Eve. Isn't that sweet? Santa's leaving Daddy a baby in his stocking!"

"You won't be the baby anymore." Dakota sounded jokey. "That should make you happy."

I frowned at him and shuddered. "Yeah. Maybe it would have, like, sixteen years ago. But now? Dad's sixty-three and acting gaga, like a first-time dad. It's disgusting."

"You're sounding dangerously like you've described your older sisters. Are you going to call this baby your niece like they call you?"

I just glared at him.

"The older sibs must be petrified. They're about to have a grand-niece!" He stopped short. "Come on, Morgan. You can see the irony in the situation?" He paused. "Oh, I get it. You
liked
being daddy's little princess."

"Shut up." I stared at him. "I haven't been Dad's little princess since he married my babysitter." I paused. "That sounded wrong. Like I'm a spoiled child or something." I forced a smile. "Since he screwed my
former
babysitter behind Mom's back right after I left for college." I took a deep breath. "Waiting to get divorced until the baby leaves for college is such a stereotype! Who knew I was the glue holding their marriage together. It's like my whole childhood was a lie."

"Look on the bright side—this could be a bonding opportunity with your older sisters. You finally have something in common with them," he said.

"Yeah, but they're not on my dad's blacklist right now like I am." I hadn't meant to tell Dakota my problems. "He's furious about my MIP. 'I don't have time for your crap, Morgan. You're an adult now. Act like one.'" I mimicked Dad.
 

"'I'm going to retire next year. I'll have a new baby to support soon. I'm too old and tired to handle your screw-ups. One baby in the family is enough.'" I snorted. "'If you even think about drinking or violating the terms of our agreement with the prosecutor, I will pull your college funds and drag you home to learn to be a good role model for the baby.'"

Dakota stared at me. "Serious?"

"Deathly." I sighed. I hadn't told anyone else.
 

"You do a pretty good dad voice." He paused. "You sound like mine."

I looked at Dakota, wondering how he could be so calm. "Your dad's threatening the same thing?"

"Yeah. Without the baby part." He smiled. "Says he'll drag my ass home if I don't stay out of trouble. He has a reputation to maintain. And I'm his son who's destined for politics." He smiled like he didn't care. "In our family, it's kind of like dedicating a son to the church. Second son is of no consequence unless he can prove himself in the arena of politics."

"That's crap." I bit my lip. "But I can see you as a politician."

His laugh was bitter. "That makes one of us."

"You'd be good at it."

He looked skeptical.

"My dad's coming to Dad's Weekend to check up on me," I said.

"Mine too."

"More things in common. We're on a roll. We should start a commiseration support group!" I winked at Dak.

His answering laugh was genuine, and he got a devilish look in his eye. "Yeah. Why not?"

"My grandma's coming, too," I added. "If she's well enough."

"How is your grandma? She must be doing better."
 

I frowned. "How do you know about my grandma?" I remembered too late. Me, sobbing in his arms. Blabbering to him about all my problems, crying over Zach.

He cleared his throat. "You told me about her heart. She's better, then?"
 

A wave of nausea crashed over me. The potato chips I'd eaten rolled over in my stomach. I pushed back from the table.

Dak frowned. "Morgan? You okay? You look green."

I took a deep breath and the moment passed. I looked up at him. His face was etched with genuine concern, or at least a well-faked version of it.